All who attend our
Fellowships are kindly asked to show
the photo page of
their passport at the door as they enter.
(or provide some similar proof of foreign citizenship)

The
Tianjin International Fellowship and the TEDA International Fellowship
are both officially registered Christian gatherings. Our legal
status and the autonomy we enjoy are both conditional on our agreeing
to check the passports of all who attend our fellowship to ensure
that only non-Chinese citizens are admitted.

This
may seem a little ridiculous to those of us who obviously look
foreign and/or who are regular attenders but we ask that you patiently
work with us, presenting your passport each time you attend fellowship.
Our alternatives are: for
the Public Security Bureau to post a guard at our doors each Sunday;
for us to issue membership cards and submit a membership list
to the Religious Affairs Burean; for us to meet in a local Three-Self
Church building; for us to have a Chinese-trained pastor participate
in our fellowship.

The trust
we have gained by co-operation in such small matters also resulted
in the Religious Affairs Bureau approaching us about starting
the English-speaking Christian fellowship in TEDA.